Interested in hearing opinions of Hawkwind since recently I seem to keep running into awesome material no matter which era. Personally, I'm a big fan of the Robert Calvert years due to his poetic space themed lyrics, especially on Quark, Strangeness and Charm. A close second for me is Live Chronicles due to Huw Lloyd-Langton's leads and vocals, Alan Davey's loud and booming bass, and Dave Brock's rhythm. I think they all combine together to create a good catchy rock n' roll album.

Like I said, I'm biased. I would say start with Quark, Strangeness and Charm because of Robert Calvert. Other good places to start are Warrior on the Edge of Time and Space Ritual for both the whole space vibe they had in the 70's as well as for having Lemmy on bass.

No, but I have been hearing a lot about them lately, wouldn't mind checking 'em out, Wheres the best place to start?

I started with Space Ritual, and it was an excellent introduction. I still like it the best. It manages to capture the spirit of Hawkwind perfectly, and possibly does even more so than the actual studio albums. The atmosphere is amazing.

Yeah, you know, the Bob Calvert era seems a bit underrepresented/unsung these days, what with the albums being out of print for a logn time (I think)..but while at first I wasn't as fond of it as I was enamoured with the early 70s stuff, I've recently grown to really like this incarnation of the band. I think it's funny that crazy Bob Calvert was the only guy in the band who didn't do any drugs.

Quark is a really good album, if a bit too short. Doremi Fassol Latido is an absolute favourite of mine..though I love Space RItual I don't think the versions there really replace the studio ones, and of course you also get beautiful renditions of "Space is Deep" and Lemmy's acoustic song, "The Watcher", which would turn into a dirty Motorhead tune later on.

Of the 80s and beyond stuff...well, yes, Live CHronicles has its moments, but in general doesn't thrill me too much. Levitation is a good album though, and I even have some fondness for CHoose your Masks, even though they butchered the retoolings of "Silver Machine" and "Psychedelic Warlords". Space Bandits is another one I quite enjoy.

They have a lot of live albums. I'd like to start collecting the better ones.

_________________Hush! and harkTo the sorrowful cryOf the wind in the dark.Hush and hark, without murmur or sigh,To shoon that tread the lost aeons:To the sound that bids you to die.

Quark is a really good album, if a bit too short. Doremi Fassol Latido is an absolute favourite of mine..though I love Space RItual I don't think the versions there really replace the studio ones, and of course you also get beautiful renditions of "Space is Deep" and Lemmy's acoustic song, "The Watcher", which would turn into a dirty Motorhead tune later on.

Also, there's the little segue track "One Change" on Doremi... which is really pretty and gets me every time. Plus, if you have the reissue, you have "Urban Guerilla" which is fantastic.

Quark is a really good album, if a bit too short. Doremi Fassol Latido is an absolute favourite of mine..though I love Space RItual I don't think the versions there really replace the studio ones, and of course you also get beautiful renditions of "Space is Deep" and Lemmy's acoustic song, "The Watcher", which would turn into a dirty Motorhead tune later on.

Also, there's the little segue track "One Change" on Doremi... which is really pretty and gets me every time. Plus, if you have the reissue, you have "Urban Guerilla" which is fantastic.

I really like "Ejection", too...that's one hell of a riff.

_________________Hush! and harkTo the sorrowful cryOf the wind in the dark.Hush and hark, without murmur or sigh,To shoon that tread the lost aeons:To the sound that bids you to die.